Yowah

Yowah is an outback town and locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Yowah had a population of 126 people.[4]

Yowah
Queensland
Yowah landscape, 2008
Yowah is located in Queensland
Yowah
Yowah
Coordinates27.9681°S 144.6361°E / -27.9681; 144.6361 (Yowah (town centre))
Population126 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode(s)4490
Area2,909.5 km2 (1,123.4 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
LGA(s)Shire of Paroo
State electorate(s)Warrego
Federal division(s)Maranoa
Localities around Yowah:
Quilpie Quilpie Humeburn
Thargomindah Yowah Eulo
Thargomindah Thargomindah Eulo

The town is known for its opal mining and numerous opal fields that lie around the town as well as the "Yowah nut" a local type of opal distinctive to the region.

Geography

Yowah is in western Queensland, 938 kilometres (583 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane and 132 kilometres (82 mi) west of Cunnamulla.

Access to Yowah is via a bitumen road. Driving in to Yowah at night not recommended due to animals on road.

History

The Yowah pastoral station was formed on Yowah Creek in the mid 1860s by Vincent James Dowling consisting of the Bargoon, Dundoo and Bundoona outstations. In 1868, the Queensland government established the Yowah Native Police barracks under Sub-Inspector James Gilmour.[5][6][7]

The area was first leased in 1883 to prospective settlers and opal mining has been the central operation within the district since the first opal fields were discovered. Population swells during the Winter months as many "regular" and "one off" visitors enjoy the weather and the friendly welcome this town offers.

Yowah State School opened on 22 January 1998.[8] It was one of the smallest state primary schools in Queensland; in 2012, there were three students.[9] The school closed in 2017 due to a lack of students.[10] It was at 5 Harlequin Drive (27.9679°S 144.6312°E / -27.9679; 144.6312 (Yowah State School (former))).[11] Its website has been archived.[12]

In August 2014, the town committee built two artesian spas.[13]

Demographics

In the 2006 census Yowah had a population of 142.[14]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Yowah had a population of 141 people.[15]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Yowah had a population of 126 people.[4]

Education

There are no schools in Yowah nor nearby. Distance education and boarding schools are options.[16]

Facilities

Paroo Shire Council operates the Rural Transaction Centre which accommodates a tourist information centre, a public library, cafe, internet and tourist information.[17]

There is also a caravan park and general store which sells groceries and fuel and has an ATM.

There is a public hall and flying doctor rooms with the Doctors attending every Friday. Craft group, indoor bowls and meals/bar two nights a week at hall and a weekly dinner and "duck race" to raise monies for SES/Flying Doctor etc at Caravan Park, during the Winter months.

The town is serviced by the State Emergency Service and the Rural Fire Service. There are two airfield runways which are lit at night.

There are no pumping or storage facilities in the town and the town relies on natural artesian pressure for its water supply. Surplus artesian water discharges into a bore drain. There are no standby facilities for Yowah and if the bore fails there would be a need to transport water from one of the other water supplies in the town for the duration of the problem. The water quality has been deemed to be safe, chemically.[18]

Events

Yowah Opal Festival is a yearly festival (3rd weekend in July) to promote and celebrate opal mining in the area. Sales, exhibitions and nightly entertainment on offer. [19]

Yowah nut opal. This nut has been cracked in half.

Attractions
Precious Opal mixed in the iron stone of a Yowah nut

Yowah has a free fossicking area (fossicking licence available at the general store).

There is a heritage trail in which to explore the surrounding localities.[20]

There is also a free camping area, with amenities (toilets, showers and laundry).

Artesian spas is a community run facility which offers two geothermally heated baths at 57°C (134.6°F). The Great Artesian Basin sources the spas and the only communal source of drinking water.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Yowah (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. "Yowah – town in Shire of Paroo (entry 38762)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  3. "Yowah – locality in Shire of Paroo (entry 42664)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  4. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Yowah (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  5. "Advertising". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. Vol. XXV, no. 3093. New South Wales, Australia. 7 March 1868. p. 8. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "THE GAZETTE". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXII, no. 3, 204. Queensland, Australia. 6 January 1868. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Cunnamulla". Dalby Herald And Western Queensland Advertiser. Vol. IV, no. 182. Queensland, Australia. 13 March 1869. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  9. "Yowah State School". Department of Education and Training. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  10. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  11. Google (6 December 2022). "Yowah State School" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  12. "Yowah State School". Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  13. "Artesian Waters Caravan Park Bore Baths - Issuu". 17 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  14. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Yowah (Paroo Shire) (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  15. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Yowah (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  16. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  17. "Yowah Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  18. Drinking Water Quality Management Plan. Paroo: Paroo Shire Council. 2018. p. 46.
  19. "Opal Nut Festival". Cunnamulla Tourism Info. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  20. "Yowah". Paroo Council. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yowah.


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